The present invention is generally directed towards an apparatus for filling vehicle tires with nitrogen and especially to a customer operated tire inflation system for filling vehicle balloon tires with nitrogen.
Automobile and truck tires are commonly filled with compressed air to a predetermined pressure level at vehicle service stations or the like. Keeping vehicle tires at the proper pressure as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer prolongs the life of the tires as well as increases the fuel economy of the vehicle. Balloon tires filled with air commonly loose a small amount of air and need to be checked at regular intervals.
Recently, it has been known to fill vehicle tires with nitrogen gas rather than air in order to improve fuel consumption and to prolong the life of the tire. Atmospheric air is comprised of slightly less than 80% nitrogen and slightly more than 20% oxygen but also contains water vapor and minute amount of other gases. Filling a tire with a higher purity nitrogen instead of air improves the vehicle mileage and prolongs the life of the tire. Inert nitrogen is heavier than oxygen and reduces the loss of gas from the tire over a period of time and reduces the water vapor within the tire. Fill frequency and safety are significant benefits. Oxygen at high temperatures and pressures can oxidize metals in the tire as well as the rubber which can result in additional leakage while dry nitrogen does not corrode the metal or the tire rubber. Overall, the use of nitrogen rather than air promotes safety and the longer life of the tire while reducing fuel consumption rates and tire maintenance. Common present day tire facilities sometimes have means for filling vehicle tires with nitrogen but such systems are generally not available at local service stations and are not consumer operated. It is the aim of the present invention to provide a system for filling vehicle tires with nitrogen which is consumer operated.